After 99 days, the lockout of the owners ended, who signed the new employment contract with the players association. Among the new features, the expansion of the playoffs to 12 teams and the designated hitter also in the National League
Agreement found, season saves. In the end common sense prevailed. The players and owners association have finally reached a common point on the issues that divided them, allowing the 2022 championship to start on April 7, without any matches being skipped, as had seemed certain until yesterday. All 162 matches of the regular season will then be played.
the news
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After 99 days of lockout, in the late evening of Thursday in Italy the parties confirmed the okay on the new collective labor agreement lasting 5 years with 26 votes in favor and 12 against by the players union, unanimously approved instead by part of the owners. The main innovations concern the introduction of the designated hitter also in the Nationa League (where the pitcher was batting until last year), the expansion of the playoffs to 12 teams (with the two best divisional winners who will enjoy a bye to the first shift), the possibility of having sponsorship brands on the jerseys (as already happens in the NBA), the increase in minimum wages to $ 700,000 for 2022 (+ 23% compared to 2021), to reach 780.00 in 2026, and growth of the luxury tax (to be paid if the pre-set salary cap is exceeded, in a league where there is no salary cap) to 230 million for the next season (+ 10%), with gradual growth that will bring it to 244 million in 2026.
April 7
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Spring training will begin on March 17th, the championship will kick off on April 7th but before then the free agent market will be unleashed, with talents of the caliber of Freddie Freeman, Carlos Correa, Trevor Story and Kris Bryant among the over 200 in look for team. No pitch clock instead for pitchers, a rule that would have limited the time available to pitchers between one pitch and another, in order to speed up matches. We will talk about it again in 2023, as well as for the abolition of the shift, that is the positioning of an infantryman on the external field according to the serving tendencies of those who are at the plate.
March 11, 2022 (change March 11, 2022 | 13:03)
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